when skies are grey

It is currently 30 degrees in my living room and it's just past noon. Time to turn the furnace on to blow some cold basement air around! It's dusty, but it works.

Other people are all:
It's SO NICE to sit out in the heat!
and I'm all:

Locals warned me about the hothothot summers here, and I witnessed a few days of it when visiting last year, but boy - it's been scorching these last few days! It's a tricky thing to manage with MS. I get serious cognitive dysfunction when my body temperature goes up, so it's hard to find motivation to leave the house. Last week Nance and I were out for a little walk with pooch and after around 25 minutes (mainly in the shade), the heat hit me like a ton of bricks. I don't feel it happening. I don't realize that I stop walking. I go from fine to waaay not fine like someone has thrown a shutdown command without a restart option. We went from sauntering up the hill to get home to me shuffling to the side of the road, foggy-brained, and annoyed with N for holding a water bottle too close to me.

It didn't dawn on me she was suggesting I drink some of it. Cog fog removes common sense processing. And I can't articulate my thoughts in those moments, which is the scariest part. I know I'm too warm, but can't think how to fix it on my own. Being dependent on someone else to recognize those signs is not ideal. I took a drink, found some shade and after a few moments someone pushed the On button again.

On the flip side of not wanting to seek out opportunities that may bring cog fog, exercise is of great benefit for those with MS (and…well, everyone), and I love being outside. These elements combined leave me in a pickle. Do I grab the soccer ball and run "suicides" with Nance? (no…tried that…bad idea for all kinds of reasons) Do I stay indoors and become resentful? Also, no bueno.

If someone can suggest an outdoor summer activity that keeps me relatively cool and is available in my current location (no swimming pools other than a small kids pool, don't even suggest it), lemme know. The beach used to be a great option since the ocean gave a cool breeze, we could walk, and the dog could get a swim in. Sadly, moving inland has struck that from the list of possibilities. My best idea so far is to carry an oversized patio umbrella around with me, but I'm not so sure that's socially acceptable.

And I'm told walking to get an ice cream does not count as exercise.